Winterfest only days away

The 14th annual Hawley Winterfest begns this Friday, Dec. 7 and lasts all weekend. A flurry of new events will all to returning favoraites taht have shaped this developing winter celebration.

Reminiscent of an old-fashioned Victorian Christmas, Hawley will be full of cheer, Downtown Hawley Partnership organizers point out.

Some new additions this year include The Winterfest Beer Tour, Seasonal Family Craft Workshop, a performance by the WAMS Bell Choir and more live music throughout town.

Most of the Winterfest events are geared toward people of all ages.

Beer Tour

For adults, there will be a Beer Tour that kicks off Friday night at 5 p.m. and continues till Saturday at noon. There are seven participating local bars and each one will present its own holiday theme and three or four featured beers. Pick up a beer tour card at any of the bars or the Lake Wallenpaupack Visitors Center and complete six flights (one flight of beer is equal to 12 ounces of beer) over the course of Winterfest, and take home a collector’s Winterfest pilsner glass. The glasses will be available at the Visitors Center.

The beer will be available to try all weekend, even if they are not participating in the beer tour. Participating restaurants include: The Boathouse Restaurant, Cora’s 1850 Bistro, Glass Wine Bar at Ledges Hotel, Ehrhardt’s Pub, Gresham’s Chop House, Overboards, and The Settler’s Inn.

Crafts, music

The PPL Environmental Learning Center is the site of the Seasonal Family Craft Workshop. Participants can create a free festive craft, and the event will be on Friday from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. The Center is located on Route 6 near the Wallenpaupack Area High School.

Students from the Wallenpaupack Middle School Bell Choir will be performing holiday favorites at the Hawley Municipal Building on Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. There will be nightly entertainment at the participating bars and restaurants such as the Coal Town Rounders will be at the Hawley Silk Mill on Saturday 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Popular favorites such as the Virgin Consort, the holiday house tours, horse and carriage rides, author book signings and many more will be at the Winterfest just like they were in previous years.

On Friday, 5 - 7:30 p.m., adults 21 and older can enjoy hors d’oeuvres along with winter wine tasting and live music at the Lake Wallenpaupack Visitors Center. The Virgin Consort will present a blend of traditional and Victorian carols with Medieval and Renaissance sacred works. The concert will be at the Queen of Peace Church and begins at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are for sale at the Settlers Inn and the Hawley Library.

Cookies, house tour

With over 5,000 cookies and candies for sale starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, later in the day there will be a Victorian Luncheon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church on Church Street along with holiday crafts too.

Page 2 of 2 - The Holiday House Tours will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. A self-guided tour, it will begin at the Hawley Municipal Building, where maps are available. Get an inside look at some of the areas gorgeous architectural gems during this one day only tour. The historic homes will be decorated and some may feature refreshments with holiday music playing in the background.

Author, author!

Local authors of all genres will be at the Hawley Library Saturday for book signings from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Some authors include Clara Gillow Clark, "Secrets of Greymoor," Lindsay Barrett George, "Maggie’s Ball," Wendy Olving, "Good Things Come to Those who Weight," Veronica Deisler, "The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Right Words for Any Occasion" and more.

There will be the traditional holiday horse and carriage rides from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday. People will board the carriages at Miss Elly’s Antiques and Such on Church Street.

There will be a free production of "The 3 Scrooges in Twas the Night Before" performed by local actors at the Ritz Company Playhouse Saturday and Sunday from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.

Harpist Diane O’Malley will perform with additional music and food available at the Settlers Inn where people can have brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Shuttle available

People can travel around via the free Winterfest shuttles that will make five stops from one end of Hawley to the other on Saturday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The shuttle will come by each stop approximately every 15 minutes. The stops are listed in the Winterfest brochure. For further details, call the Lake Wallenpaupack Visitors Center at (570) 226-2141 or pick up a Hawley Winterfest brochure at the Visitors Center or other area businesses.

For a complete schedule of events and continuous updates, visit www.HawleyWinterfest.com or "Like" Hawley Winterfest on Facebook.

Hawley Winterfest is presented by the Downtown Hawley Partnership, a non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining and enhancing the high standard of living for the community and tourists to enjoy. For more information, visit www.visithawleypa.com. The event is made possible through the contribution of local sponsors, donations, volunteers, participating residents and merchants, and The 2012 Winterfest Committee.